"Stone?"
Stone tilted his head and looked at Chen Bin with a puzzled expression.
Chen Bin said, "Stone, could you and Vine and Blackie take these kids and run some drills for them?"
Stone nodded upon hearing this, then struck a bodybuilder pose: "Stone!"
Leave it to me!
Chen Bin: "..."
He instinctively glanced at the students he was leading, and sure enough, their expressions had gone from awe and admiration to outright confusion.
He covered his face with his hand, sighed deeply, and pretended not to have seen Stone's antics. Then he pointed at Li Miao and called her out for testing.
Yao Chen and Gao Yuanzhi were surprised and asked curiously, only to learn that Li Miao's beast might have already reached the level where it could awaken.
Wow!
For a moment, all eyes fell on the husky, their gazes filled with admiration, envy, and amazement, as if they were looking at a prodigy.
The husky seemed momentarily intimidated by all the attention, its tail briefly tucking between its legs—but when it realized these people were admiring it, the dog immediately perked up again.
It was the chosen one!
Even though it didn't understand why it had suddenly become so powerful, it had to admit—it really was just that amazing!
With this thought bolstering its confidence, the husky even gave Li Miao a sidelong glance, as if to say, Your beast is this incredible, aren't you going to show some appreciation?
Li Miao: "..."
As if she didn't know.
Do you really think you became this strong all by yourself?
It's all because of the cheats I gave you!
Li Miao scowled, grabbed the husky by the loose skin at the back of its neck, and dragged the fifty-pound dog out of line, despite its dignified and proud posture.
The husky's face contorted, its entire body stiff with discomfort.
"Ow!"
Let go, I'll walk by myself!
Li Miao sneered. "So you can keep showing off?"
"Dream on!"
"Don't forget you still owe me two months' worth of photos!"
Husky: "...whimper."
()
Chen Bin, unable to bear the sight of the husky's flattened ears, interjected, "Just put it down."
Li Miao released her hold, and the dog's distorted face immediately returned to normal.
The husky perked its ears up and even wagged its tail at Chen Bin.
"Woof!"
You're a good person!
Chen Bin pretended not to understand the husky's words. He led the girl and her dog across the training grounds to the medical office nearby.
The test examiner was a young doctor with a balloon-like beast at his side.
When Li Miao's gaze landed on the beast, she unexpectedly triggered her True Sight—
[Beast: Glimmer
Race: Angelic Light Sphere
Attribute: Healing
Level: ???
Temperament: Languid
State: Calm
Passive Skills: ???
Active Skills: Glimmer Heal (Mastered 1074/2000), ???
Base Stats: ???
Note: An adorably cute beast.]
Li Miao was startled and gave it a quick glance.
The beast, Glimmer, seemed to sense her gaze. Its round body rotated slightly, revealing a pristine, angelic pattern on its front.
"Boo~"
Li Miao reflexively smiled back. "Hello."
Glimmer's patterns brightened momentarily. "Boo!"
Now Li Miao didn't know how to respond.
She couldn't understand it at all, so she shot a helpless look at the doctor.
The young doctor chuckled and scooped up Glimmer, setting it on his shoulder. "Alright, stop teasing her—she can't understand you."
Glimmer's glow dimmed slightly. "Boo..."
The doctor ignored it and turned his attention to the husky.
"So, this is that super talented beast you mentioned?"
The husky immediately puffed out its chest. "Woof!"
Damn right, it's me!
Chen Bin nodded as well.
"That's the one."
The doctor crouched, grabbed the husky's front paw, and began kneading its padded foot—palming it, squeezing... Hmm, the paw was a little rough but still pretty soft.
He found himself kneading it repeatedly, only stopping when the husky started to suspect the two-legged creature was taking liberties. Then, he set the paw down and moved to cup its head.
"The bone age is about six months old, but its body is larger than average for a pup—it's definitely showing signs of nearing its awakening period."
He stroked the dog's fur again, then, very naturally, scratched under its chin.
"It does feel like it's already awakened. We'll run a proper test later."
Li Miao nodded seriously, already wondering how to handle things once the husky's stats were revealed.
But the next moment—
"Take your hands off its belly."
Chen Bin scowled. "You damn pervert, don't use this as an excuse to grope the dog!"
"I know you're a fur-obsessed freak. Chen Yucheng, I dare you to try doing this to Blackie in front of its face!"
Chen Yucheng: "..."
He glanced at the husky, which had silently retreated behind Li Miao, and his heart broke painfully.
"Do you have to call me out the second you arrive? Can't you at least let me save face? It's just a little petting—it's harmless!"
"Then go ask the husky if it even wants you petting it."
"I swear, I'm a decent pers—"
"Woof!"
No pets! Back off!
Go! Go! Go!
The husky barked at Chen Yucheng once, then hid behind Li Miao again.
Chen Yucheng: "..."
…You didn't have to reject me so fast.
He sighed in defeat. "Fine, my bad. I shouldn't have tried sneaking pets in. So, pup—your name is Erha, right? Can I just sniff—uh, hug you? I'll give you treats! Premium-grade food! Energy cubes!"
The husky's eyes gleamed with scheming light.
"Woof!"
One hug, sure—but it'll cost extra!
It lifted its chin haughtily. "Woof woof woof!"
I'm not some cheap dog! My price is steep!
Li Miao: "..."
Chen Bin: "..."
Chen Yucheng nudged Chen Bin. "Bro, quick, translate! What did it say? Did it agree?!"
Chen Bin wasn't in the mood to talk.
He rolled his eyes at Chen Yucheng before pushing him to start the husky's test.
With no other choice, Chen Yucheng reluctantly activated the testing equipment under Chen Bin's impatient gaze.
"Fine, let's just get started."
He beckoned to the husky. "Come on, little guy—hop onto this platform. I'll attach the sensors."
Li Miao, the actual beastmaster, was completely ignored.
Chen Bin patted her shoulder. "Don't take it personally. Once this guy sees something fluffy, nothing else exists—not even his own beast."
Li Miao glanced at the round beast perched on the doctor's shoulder and fell into contemplative silence.
So...
His beast really doesn't get jealous?